HO CHI MINH CITY – Shooting, archery, and rowing SUP are 3 of the sports activities allowed under Directive 18 in Ho Chi Minh City.
Archery is a sport originally reserved for professional athletes but has long been approached by amateurs for entertainment. Before the fourth Covid-19 epidemic in Ho Chi Minh City, Galaxy archery club located in the Labor Culture Palace welcomed nearly 100 visitors every weekend, most of them were office workers, students, students or even children. I was brought to experience by my parents, with the price of 80,000 VND/hour. Opening hours are divided into 2 shifts: 8am-12pm and 14h30-21pm.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, Chairman of the club, shared: “The club has reopened since October 5, but the participants are still quite hesitant. In the morning, it is impossible to expect to reach the same capacity as before.” Besides, there are still many patrons of the club looking forward to returning. Nguyen Trong Duc (District 7) shared: “I choose archery as an entertainment after a long time indoors because it is an outdoor sport, the space is open, there is also a distance between players. required, so it’s pretty safe.”
Mr. Hieu added that the club is still operating according to directive 18, all staff and instructors have been vaccinated with 2 doses of vaccine, this also applies to visitors.
Currently, the SUP rowing club Saigon rowing station has also reopened and only accepts guests with a limited number of 3 to 4 times per day, each batch is no more than 10 people and depends on the tides up and down. The rental price is 450,000 VND/SUP for a session and currently has a 20% discount.
When coming to play, guests will be instructed on skills as well as safety equipment before entering the water. Mr. Dao Le Phuong, owner of the station shared, to maintain operations, he had to spend his own money to pay for parking fees, staff salaries… during nearly 4 months of social distancing. The station operates at 3 branches, but to ensure safety, only Phu My Hung Marina branch is allowed to reopen because this place has quite strict anti-epidemic measures.
Located in Nguyen Binh Khiem Sports Center, Saigon Sniper shooting club also started operating after the city eased social distancing. The medical declaration, temperature measurement, only receiving guests with 2 injections have been controlled by the center, the mission of the club is to ensure that guests come to visit to comply with the 5K principle and fully equipped with epidemic prevention measures such as: hand sanitizer, alcohol sanitizer. Normally, the club has 10 shooting positions and unlimited people to play, but now the capacity is reduced to 50%. Reservations are required upon arrival and playtime is limited.
Mr. Le Hoang Phong (District 7), a new guest of the club, shared: “I have heard about shooting for a long time and really wanted to experience it, but due to the complicated development of the epidemic, I did not have the opportunity. After a long break from the pandemic, I think this is the right time. Approaching shooting is not too difficult. It only takes about 10-15 minutes to get used to the techniques.”
